Early days?

News - OK, hearsay - reaches me that a couple of regional brewers of not insignificant size have experienced a near 20 per cent sales slump across their respective estates in recent weeks, 'thanks' to bloody awful weather and yes, you've guessed it, the smoking ban.

Punters do seem to be marking time on pubs, at least in certain sectors - and this in what is laughably called a 'summer'. But ban-wise, should the industry be worried long term? I suggest not, despite the inevitable kick in the balls we'll see over the next year or so.

Anecdotally, several watering holes with outside space within crawling distance of Publican Towers have thrived when the sun has bothered to show itself. Pubs sans​ outdoor facilities, however pleasant their interiors, have been noticeably quieter.

Not exactly an Einstein-esque observation I'll grant you, but this is less about the pub trade being in the early stages of meltdown than punters, especially the smoking variety, being circumspect about which hostelry they visit.

For example, where I live in South East London my drinking den of choice - a robust community local if ever there was one, with no outside space to speak of - is as busy as ever.

JD Wetherspoon's John Hutson notes his pre-ban non-smoking pubs began to claw back the sales they'd lost a year after their self-imposed restriction. This suggests business can bounce back.

Yet while pointing to a decent enough performance in Scotland Hutson says it will take a "big effort" to maintain sales momentum and keep margins moving forward.

Indeed. With rising interest rates and maturing fixed-rate mortgages the future looks less rosy than it has done for some time.

But complaining about the smoking ban gets us nowhere. Making the pub a great place to visit, whatever one's views on the restriction, surely does.